It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Starting the new school year had me so busy last week! I did manage to read some picture books that I plan to use in my classroom.

Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman, K.G. Campbell (Illustrator) This book is adorable! The bossy little girl and the hungry bear cub are such heartwarming characters. The illustrations are awesome!

 

 

Chocolate Milk, Por Favor! Celebrating Diversity with Empathy by Maria Dismondy, Donna Farrell (Illustrator) This is a nice picture book to help start a discussion about kindness and helping others. Gabe is the new kid at school. Johnny isn't very nice to him and refuses to be friends. But what will happen when everyone else starts hanging around with Gabe?

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, Judy Love (Illustrator) I read this book every year to my students on the first day of school, even if they've heard it before. The illustrations are fantastic, and the children are always surprise by the ending.

The Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash, Bridget Starr Taylor (Illustrator) This is a cute poetry picture book about a brave little girl, named Isabel. Nothing fazes Isabel: she meets up with a bear that wants to eat her, a witch, a one-eyed monster, and a creepy doctor. The book has fun rhymes to it, with somewhat complex vocabulary words. The illustrations are very colorful watercolors that are fun to look at. It's kind of old-fashioned, and I'm not sure I care for the part about the creepy doctor.

Weird! by Erin Frankel, Paula Heaphy (Illustrator), Dare! by Erin Frankel, Paula Heaphy (Illustrator), Tough! by Erin Frankel, Paula Heaphy (Illustrator) The books in this series deal with bullying and tall the stories from each character's point of view.

 

 

Red by Jan De Kinder This book has a good message about kindness and bullying.

 

 

Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis I love this book! The text and the illustrations are so simple, but I think it would be really exciting to see what my students could do with a stick - making drawings & writing about them.

 

 

The Promise by Nicola Davies This book gives the reader a lot to consider: at first we see a depressing urban scene with a young lady that is a thief. But stealing a bag of acorns changes her life as she decides to live up to her promise to plant them. I think it's a great story about giving back and doing something to bring beauty and nature into the world. I'd like to share this story with my fifth grade students and see what they think of it.

 

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry, Tom Lichtenfeld (Illustrator) It's a cute story about friendship: stick and stone become best friends and help each other out. Great for primary read aloud.

 

 

 

 

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson This gorgeous picture book has an awesome message about kindness.

 

 

 

 

Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen This is a cute picture book about two unlikely friends!

 

 

There by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick A picture book of questions from the point of view of a child wondering about growing up.

 

 

Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker, Martin Matje (Illustrator) This is a cute little chapter book about a boy who has made himself a magic cape out of a bunch of ties. The cape allows him to have one magical surprise a day. The cape is a big help as he experiences all the worries of starting third grade at a new school.

 

My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig, Abigail Marble (Illustrator) This is an informative picture book that looks at relational aggression or emotional bullying.

 

 

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown This is a great picture book with a wonderful message about making the world a more beautiful place and ways to enjoy nature, even in unlikely places. I plan to share this book with students, but I think I want to point out that Liam (and other children like him) really shouldn't be exploring abandoned places without a grownup with them. I don't want to encourage kids to do something that is unsafe.

 

 

Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe Fenway and Hattie is such a fun book to read. This heartwarming story is told from the point of view of Fenway, an energetic Jack Russell terrier. I wrote a complete review on a previous post: http://www.janatheteacher.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-fenway-and-hattie-by_30.html

 

Hope everyone has a great week and lots of fun READING!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 











Book Review: Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe

Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe

 

 

Fenway and Hattie  is such a fun book to read. This heartwarming story is told from the point of view of Fenway, an energetic Jack Russell terrier. Because we are experiencing the events of this book from a dog's perspective, we quickly learn that Fenway's family includes Food Lady, Fetch Man and his favorite short human, Hattie. When this family moves from a busy, noisy city neighborhood to the much quieter suburbs, Fenway has many stressful changes in his life. The house is bigger and the Wicked Floor in the Eating Place is too slippery. The Dog Park behind the house has squirrels instead of dogs in it. And Hattie is much more interested in climbing trees and playing with her new friend, Angel, than spending time with him.

 

This book is going to be awesome to use in the classroom because there are so many lessons that this book would support. Obviously, when you want a great book to discuss point of view, this story works because we're seeing all of the action from Fenway's perspective. The author, Victoria J. Coe, really does a terrific job writing in Fenway's voice and showing us what it's like to only understand bits and pieces of what's happening. Once in a while, he'll understand a word or two, like "treat" or "Fenway", but mostly he has to figure out what's happening through nonverbal cues. Here's an example from the first chapter: "Fetch Man smiles and kisses Food Lady's cheek. He speaks quickly and gestures a lot. Like he's the happiest human in the world. What's he so excited about?"

 

As Fenway tries to piece together all of these different mysteries, we have a great opportunity to teach inferencing skills. Here's one of my favorites from the book:

 

"Angel is about to head after the ball when strange sounds make us all stop.

Tinky-tinky-tink-a-too.

Is it music, like fluty birds? It's moving toward us. It must be exciting because Hattie and Angel drop their fat gloves and squeal with glee. Do they know what it is?"

 

As the noise gets louder and closer, Fetch Man digs some flimsy paper out of his pocket and gives it to Hattie and Angel. Finally a truck appears. Here's a chance to see if students can figure out what's going on based on Fenway's descriptions of the events.

 

There are also a lot of nice messages about growing up and friendship and love. It's a book that leaves reader's feeling good. I definitely want this book as a part of my classroom library!

 

This review is based on an Advance Uncorrected Galley Proof sent to me by the author and publisher.

 

Expected publication: February 9, 2016 by GP Putnam's Sons/Penguin Young Readers

176 pages

Ages 8-12; Grades 3-7

 



Celebrate Saturday

Celebrate Link-Up: Ruth Ayres Writes

 

Thank goodness it's the weekend! It's been an exciting week for sure, as we started back to school. The Back-To-School week is a whirlwind of professional development, preparations, meetings and greetings. It's wonderful, but it's exhausting! We started Monday with meetings all day and an ice cream social in the afternoon. I love the ice cream social, because it's a chance to meet my students and their parents before we actually have to "get down to business."  Tuesday was a chance for teachers to put the finishing touches (is it ever really finished?) on their classrooms. Wednesday was the BIG DAY!

 

While I love getting back in the classroom and back to teaching, the first day is always a little daunting - for teachers AND students. That's why once everyone has found the right room and their seat, we gather on the rug to talk. By that time, I usually take a deep breath and smile at the children. I introduce myself and then I read First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg (Judy Love, illustrator).  I love that book no matter what grade I teach, because I use it as a way to share that we ALL are a little nervous on the first day. That usually helps set the tone for everything that goes on from there.

 

 

I'd love to be able to say that everything was happy and magical from that moment forward, but that wouldn't be true. Many things went smoothly that day, but other parts of the day - not so much. We're still getting to know each other, we still need to build relationships. That isn't going to happen after one great read aloud story. It's going to take time. One of my students has some severe behavior issues that became apparent even before we went to lunch on the first day. That was upsetting for the whole class, but thankfully by the second day we were able to start making some plans to help this student. It's still going to take a lot of time and patience to help him, but I feel like I'm on the right track.

 

I was pleased this week that my new students really seem to be appreciating all of the time and money that I put into my classroom library. Some of the books that I was pretty sure would be favorites were grabbed up right away. Many of my students are already showing great stamina for longer periods of independent reading.

 

Speaking of books (of course)...My favorite surprise of the week was the Delaware County District Library Book Fair. I found out that it was happening today. Wow! You could purchase a bag full of books for $12 (if you already have a bag from the Friends of the Library, you can fill it for $8). I got an awesome haul of books to go into my classroom library!

 

Hope all of you have an awesome beginning to your school year! I know this will be the best year ever!

















It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

I've read many books this week. Since school starts in my district, I read as much as I could while I still had the time to do it.

The School Story by Andrew Clements
Natalie is a 12-year-old who has just written her first novel. Her best friend, Zoe, tells her the book is terrific and that she ought to get it published. It just so happens that Natalie's mother is an editor for Shipley Junior Books (a big children's publisher). Natalie doesn't want to ask her mom to read it, because she wants her mom to read it objectively. Zoe has a big idea: Natalie could submit her manuscript under a pen name, and Zoe could be her agent. It's so much fun to read this book to see if this plan is going to work.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (illustrator) Junie B. Jones is starting kindergarten and she's going to have to ride the school bus. She's pretty sure she's not going to like it.

Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret by Bob Shea  This was a cute picture book about friendship. Ballet Cat always wants to play ballet, but sometimes Pony wants to do other stuff? How can he tell her and still be friends with her?

I Will Never Get a Star on Mrs. Benson's Blackboard by Jennifer K. Mann This is a heartwarming picture book about a little girl who has a difficult time doing all the things that earn the other children stars on the blackboard. This would be a terrific book to share during the first days of school.

If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade This is a beautiful picture book that reminds us that if we never try to fly, we won't know if we can or can't. This book has a message that applies to everyone and it's definitely one that I want to share in my classroom!

El Deafo by Cece Bell I really enjoyed this book. I think that the author did a wonderful job of helping the reader understand what it feels like to be deaf and to feel lonely and isolated because of feeling different. I love that the author uses humor and a graphic novel format to really reach out and help young readers understand and relate. This is an important book and I'm really glad to have it as part of my classroom library.

 

The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen I really enjoyed reading this book. The narrator of the story, Eldon, tells of his family and his life on a Minnesota farm through each of the four seasons. When he gets to winter, he shares the stories that Uncle David tells by the fire. One of those stories has a profound effect on the whole family.

The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst This book is a terrific middle-grade fantasy novel about Sophie, a twelve-year-old girl, whose parents own a bookshop that sells much more than books. In the basement of the store is a secret dream shop, where dreams are bought and sold. When the store is robbed and her parents and two of her friends disappear, Sophie and her pet monster race against time to solve the mystery and rescue them.

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge This book is a terrific novel in verse form. Eighth grader, Kevin Boland has a lot going on: he's got a girlfriend named Mira who is pretty and popular; he's the first baseman on his playoff-bound baseball team, and he writes poetry. Things get complicated when he becomes "poetry friends" with Amy, a fellow poet he met at a bookstore reading. He tells his story in his diary, using poetry to express hist thoughts and feeling.

Fluff and Billy by Nicola Killen This was a cute book about friendship and forgiveness. Fluff and Billy do everything together and have such a good time. But as frequently happens, playing leads to a problem and then the two are angry at each other. Will they stay mad for good? Beautiful watercolor illustrations are very heartwarming and support the story well.

My Best Friend by Mary Ann Rodman, E.B. Lewis (illustrator) This is a beautifully illustrated story about six-year-old Lily who is trying so hard to be friends with seven-year-old Tamika. She tries getting a new bathing suit, sharing snacks and toys with her, and learning how to dive. But nothing impresses Tamika. The awesome watercolor pictures really support the story of trying to make friends and how difficult that can be if you're not the same age.

Spy Guy: The Not-So-Secret Agent by Jessica Young, Charles Santoso (illustrator) This is such a fun book about a little boy who wants to learn how to spy on people without anyone hearing him, seeing him, or knowing he's around. He keeps going back to the Chief of Spies (his dad) for advice. Finally, his dad says that when the little boy can sneak up on him and surprise him, then he'll be a spy. This book has a great message about perseverance and hard work leading to the accomplishment of a goal.

Stevie by John Steptoe This is a great book about friendship. At the beginning of the story, Robert finds out that Stevie is going to be staying with his family for a while. He's a little kid and his mother has to work during the week, so Robert's parents are watching him. Robert is very annoyed with Stevie all the time. Watch how things begin to change. I'm looking forward to sharing this book with my students, because those with younger children around (siblings, relatives, friends) will be able to relate to this story.



 

Book Review: Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge (sequel to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup) is a novel in verse form. Eighth grader Kevin Boland has a lot going on: he's got a beautiful and popular girlfriend named Mira, he's the first baseman on his playoff-bound baseball team, and he writes poetry. Things get complicated when he becomes "poetry friends" with Amy, a fellow poet he met at a bookstore reading. He tells his story in his diary, using poetry to express his thoughts and feelings.

This book is a terrific mentor text for aspiring poets. Kevin's diary is written in verse, but then we also get to read the imbedded poetry that he and Amy share with each other. The reader also gets a primer on various poetic forms: free verse, couplets, haiku, pantoums, villanelles, sestinas, limericks and ghazals.

Kevin's poetry captures a lot of the complicated feelings of being an adolescent. His mother has passed away before the book's opening and his father is ready to begin seeing other women. Obviously Kevin feels very conflicted about that. Here are a few good examples of his poetic instinct:

"I'm basically a good kid. But imperfect
enough to be interesting.

Like a good poem."

"Sadness is a big dark bus
with a schedule of its own.
But when it pulls up and the door
opens with a hiss, you pretty much
have to get on."

I'm going to be interested to see which of my fifth grade students will choose this book and if it will be helpful for writing. I'm planning on Book Talking it, to generate interest. I'm very  happy to have this book as part of my classroom library.



Bringing Order to Chaos: My Classroom Library

I'm so excited! Summer's over and school starts next week! A fresh batch of fifth graders will be entering my classroom on Wednesday. I still have a lot of work to do to get the room ready, but THE LIBRARY IS READY! And to me that is the most important part. The library is going to be the center of nearly everything we do and I've worked really hard to make sure there are books that show that everyone's story matters. Every child in my classroom will be able to read books in which they recognize their own experiences and selves. The library isn't finished because I am constantly adding new books to it and the children need to have a voice in how we're going to manage it and keep it organized so everyone can enjoy it. I'm posting pictures of it for those of you that like seeing other teachers' libraries. I know I love getting ideas from other classroom libraries and some of you may even recognize your influence on me!

 

This is what it looks like as you walk in the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll post more pictures of the rest of my classroom when it's ALL set. Ready or not, the children are coming on Wednesday! This is going to be the best year ever!



Book Review: The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst

 

The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst is a terrific middle-grade fantasy novel about Sophie, a twelve-year-old girl, whose parents own a bookshop that sells much more than books. In the basement of the store is a secret dream shop, where dreams are bought and sold. When the store is robbed and her parents and two of her friends disappear, Sophie and her pet monster race against time to solve the mystery and rescue them.

 

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC (from NetGalley) of this book, and I'm so happy I did. The story is a suspenseful adventure that takes the reader into the mysterious territory between fantasy and reality.

 

When the book opens, six-year-old Sophie steals a dream from an unmarked container. In the dream, she befriends a monster that resembles a furry badger with tentacles, big eyes, and sharp teeth. When she awakes, the monster from the story is in the room with her. She convinces her parents to let her keep it as a pet, and Monster becomes her best friend. This is when we learn that Sophie has the ability to bring elements from the dream world into the physical world. Sophie's ability to do this reminds me of the figs that can make dreams come true in The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg. 

 

One of the things I love most about this book is The Dreamcatcher Bookshop. This bookstore would make any book nerd swoon! The author describes it as a "a labyrinth of ceiling-high bookshelves that were crammed with new and used books." The bookstore sold cupcakes from trays near the cash register. You could sit comfortably reading books and eating cupcakes on soft chairs or pillows in a window seat.

When the store is ransacked and the dreams stolen, you can really feel how scary and disturbing this intrusion is. I love that this book has excitement and suspense, but it's still appropriate for middle-grade children. There is some violence, but none of it is over-the-top. I would be comfortable having this in my classroom library.

I also like the imaginary friend aspect of this book. Monster turns out to be Sophie's best friend and protector. This book would pair well with a number of books with this same theme: Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, and Marilyn's Monster by Michelle Knudsen.

This book is awesome and I believe that it will be popular with my fifth grade students.

The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Expected publication: November 3, 2015 by Clarion Books




 

 

 



 

Book Review: Took - A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

 

I normally don't like to read scary ghost stories. I am the type of person who covers my eyes during scary movies or better yet, stays away from them all together. But then I was fortunate to have the opportunity to read a digital ARC (provided by NetGalley) of Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn.  And I am so glad that I did.

 

The author of this novel did a great job of creating characters that are authentic and believable as this family dealt with the horrifying disappearance of seven-year-old Erica. The main character, thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson, is already coping with stressful circumstances: his father has lost his job, his family moved to a ramshackle farmhouse in the wilderness of West Virginia, and everyone at his new school is very unpleasant to him. There's a crazy legend about a ghost witch who lives on the hill in the woods with her vicious razorback hog, Bloody Bones.

 

As the family tries to adjust to their new home, Erica begins to withdraw from everyone and have whispered conversations with her lookalike doll. After Daniel and Erica have an argument in the woods about this doll, Erica runs off down the trail. Daniel tries to chase after her, but she gets away from him. When she doesn't return home, it's clear that she is missing.

 

The author builds suspense as the family and authorities search all over for Erica. It's starting to look like the local stories about "Auntie" (the witch) just might be the only explanation for Erica's disappearance. Daniel has to reach out to some pretty strange people for help.

 

I believe middle grade fans of spooky stories will enjoy this novel. I also think that kids will be able to relate to Daniel's frustration that the grownups in his life don't take him seriously and don't listen to him. "They were the grownups, the adults, the parents. They were in charge. They made the decisions."

 

I also appreciate that while this book is very suspenseful and spooky, it's still appropriate for the middle grade student. There is nothing over-the-top scary or violent that's going to be disturbing. I am looking forward to sharing copies of this in my fifth grade classroom library. And I won't be having nightmares about this book, myself!

 

Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

Expected publication: September 15, 2015 by Clarion Books